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| Source :: Sisters of the Rose |
Holy Wells & Sacred Springs dot the landscape across Ireland and other Celtic lands. Most are dedicated to a Saint, some are Christianized springs leftover from pagan eras. They have long been important places, once for providing drinkable, life giving waters, then for places of healing and prayer, solace and pilgrimage. Today, people still visit these holy wells. At these revered sites, you may find candles burning as votive offerings, coins tossed into water with silent wishes, or ribbons & cloth hanging from a nearby sacred tree, tied in prayer. Maybe a letter has been tucked under a stone, a necklace hung on a branch, a bouquet of flowers laid delicately by.
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Saint Brigid's Holy Well, Tully, Kildare
Source :: Ireland's Holy Wells
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| Source :: Ireland's Holy Wells |
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| Rag Tree in Connemara, Ireland, Source: Emerald Post |
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Lady Well, Sticklepath, Devon, England
Source :: Myth & Moor
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The tradition of visiting holy wells was the inspiration behind my Wishing Well Candles. The candle, tied with ribbon & containing a lucky Irish coin at the bottom, signifies the ancient tradition of pilgrimage to holy places of prayer & healing, to sacred waters in sacred woods, welling up from the Otherworld.
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| A little collection of tokens from Ireland lit by a Wishing Well Candle |
I imagine folks placing the candle somewhere they know to be special. Because we know that many places can be holy, sacred, and magical to you without the designation of anyone else. Perhaps your candle sits in you library nook, where you light it as you travel through the pages of books. Maybe in your little shrine to Ireland, where it reminds of your journeys across the lands of your ancestors. Perhaps it's in your flower garden where the flower faeries come out to play. Maybe it sits by a photo of a loved one who has passed, where love & memories flow like clear spring water. Wherever you light it, may its flame kindle peace.
Here are some places on the web to visit if you want to explore more about Holy Wells:
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